Thursday, February 08, 2007
Land transport agency hit over issuance of public conveyance permits
By Rimaliza Opiña
THE complaint lodged at the Baguio City Council by jeepney drivers plying the Baguio-Tuding-Bua route over the illegal allocation of terminals is like opening a can of worms on the kind of system used by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in the granting of certificates of public convenience (CPCs).
In answer to an inquiry of Councilor Edilberto Tenefrancia, LTFRB-Cordillera representative Guillermo Kadatar admitted in a public hearing on Wednesday that no information was relayed to its central office regarding the erroneous route measure capacity (RMC) of the Baguio-Tuding Express Drivers and Operators Association (BTEXDOA).
Kadatar said lawyers of BTEXDOA and oppositors, namely the Baguio-Tuding Operators and Drivers Association (Batoda) and the Baguio-Ucab Operators and Drivers Association (Budoa) were asked by the LTFRB regional office here to submit their respective position papers, and left it to the board en banc to decide on the complaint.
The BTEXDOA attached to its application for CPC the RMC survey done by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) regional office stating that apart from passengers from Tuding, they also cater to passengers from Lepanto Mines and a lease contract for off-street parking.
The LTFRB regional office accepted the application for CPC and transmitted this to its central office for approval.
It turned out however that the BTEXDOA jeepneys do not ferry Lepanto mines employees and although they represented that they have an off-street contract, Kabayanihan Barangay Chairman Manolo Flores granted them a parking space for two units, using as his basis the recommendation of the committee on public utilities, transportation and traffic legislation of the City Council.
But BTEXDOA counsel Socrates Suayan belied that his clients lied about some facts in their CPC application.
He said a clerical error was committed because during the RMC survey, the DOTC conducted a simultaneous survey involving another route. However, he said the necessary corrections have already been done, stating that their route covers Baguio City to Sitio Bua in Tuding, Itogon, Benguet.
But the counsel for the oppositors, James Valeros, said clerical errors must not happen in the RMC, because results of the RMC are used as a basis in the granting of a CPC.
“It was a mere table survey. My clients could not even identify who did the survey,” Valeros alleged, adding that there now exists unfair competition between Batoda and Budoa drivers and the BTEXDOA because their loading area is more accessible and their fare cheaper.For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Dumaguete. (February 8, 2007 issue)
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